Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1991

I spent so many afternoons in this room 20 years ago, I can still smell the musty fragrance of the building.

When you’re halfway across the world and 19 years old, it’s nice to have a place to go where you can feel at home.

I lived across the quad from the Office of International Studies Programmes (OISP), so I came here on a daily basis to check my mailbox (the only way of communicating with friends and family back in the US; I think I received a phone call once that whole year) and to hang out with other foreign students on my program.

OISP provided a great introduction to Hong Kong. I still remember their thorough orientation (day trips to Ping Chau and Aberdeen, a night tram tour of Hong Kong Island, and a necessary excursion to the Immigration Tower in Wanchai to apply for HK ID cards).

In this photo I’m passing through Hong Kong the summer I finished the program. My dad and I were on a two-day layover from Thailand, en route to Shanghai, and I was wearing one of three outfits I lugged around Asia that summer, along with my Lands End man bag.

Comments

Makes me wish I had studied abroad during college, Susan. BTW, I did the 3 outfits bit in Asia, too… and on into Europe. They were mix-and-match, but I don’t think I fooled anyone who spent more than 3 days with me. After 5 months I threw out a shirt, and after 6, I broke down and bought a cheap dress at a flea market. Even with my clunky hiking sandals, I almost felt feminine again.

That’s so funny! I went onto Europe with those outfits, too (and Russia). The sweater was a life-saver in Moscow (it was July, but it wasn’t warm). You certainly got to see the world, which is all that matters 🙂